England all-rounder Moeen Ali is expected to continue to bat at No. 3 in the fourth Ashes 2023 Test match against Australia at Old Trafford in spite of one unsuccessful attempt of doing so in the second innings at Headingley. Ali, who had expressed a desire to bat at the position to head coach Brendon McCullum during the previous match, seems to be in line to be backed without any inhibitions after England announced their Playing XI for the next match.
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Unsurprisingly, the development hasn’t been accepted by English journalists and fans without illustrating an emotion of astonishment and bewilderment. Understandably, anyone would exhibit such an emotion regarding a left-field selection of a retired Test cricketer allowing him to bat at No. 3 in must-win matches of an Ashes series.
While vice-captain Ollie Pope was conferred with the vital No. 3 spot in the Bazball era, a shoulder dislocation ruling him out of the series vacated the spot before the third Test. Hard-hitting batter Harry Brook was promoted to the top-order only to be dropped down to his usual and preferred batting position of No. 5.
Twitter Reactions On Moeen Ali Slotted At No. 3 In England Playing 11 For Old Trafford Test
If truth be told, the last few weeks have witnessed quite a turnaround for Ali taking into consideration how he has been bestowed with dual responsibility now despite having not playing a first-class match since his Test retirement.
“Moeen Ali at 3, five weeks after his unretirement, in a must-win Ashes Test and it basically making sense sums up the wild journey England have already been on this summer,” Telegraph Sport’s Tim Wigmore tweeted on Monday.
Moeen Ali at 3, five weeks after his unretirement, in a must-win Ashes Test and it basically making sense sums up the wild journey England have already been on this summer
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) July 17, 2023
Imagine someone telling you at the start of June that Moeen Ali would be England’s No.3 for half of the Ashes, and that you’d basically be on board with it. What a world
— Ben Gardner (@Ben_Wisden) July 17, 2023
Moeen Ali Batting Record At No. 3
Ali, 36, hasn’t picked more than two wickets and scored more than 21 runs across four innings of Ashes 2023. Speaking particularly of his overall Test batting record at No. 3, 92 runs across seven innings at an average of 13.14 including a half-century doesn’t paint a rosy picture.
Before this series, the left-handed batter had batted at No. 3 in 2018. With five out of his six Test innings at that number coming that year, Ali hadn’t created any major impact barring scoring 50 (170) against India at The Oval.
| S. No. | Runs | Balls | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| 1 | 5 | 20 | India | Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium | 2016 |
| 2 | 9 | 15 | India | Ageas Bowl | 2018 |
| 3 | 50 | 170 | India | The Oval | 2018 |
| 4 | 20 | 52 | India | The Oval | 2018 |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | Sri Lanka | Galle International Stadium | 2018 |
| 6 | 3 | 11 | Sri Lanka | Galle International Stadium | 2018 |
| 7 | 5 | 15 | Australia | Headingley | 2023 |
